| . | 01/28/2009
Caesar and Cleopatra & 23 Knives
By: Victor Gluck
Chris Ceraso as Caesar and Wrenn Schmidt as the young Cleopatra
(Photo credit: Jon Kandel)
According to its mission statement, Resonance Ensemble usually presents “a classic play in repertory with a contemporary one directly inspired by it.” This year Resonance is varying that formula by producing a modern classic, George Bernard Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra, and a world premiere, 23 Knives by Christopher Boal. Both have been inspired by the same source material, Shakespeare’s history play, Julius Caesar. Shaw’s play, a comedy on historic events, deals with Caesar’s visit to Alexandria, Egypt in 48 B.C. Boal’s fascinating new play is a medical detective story taking place immediately after Caesar’s assassination on the ides of March, 44 B.C.
Performed in rotating repertory, the plays share the theme of power politics. This is an ambitious undertaking with the Shaw play containing 29 roles, and only one actor appearing in both plays. This production of Shaw’s five act epic Caesar and Cleopatra has been adapted by Eric Overmyer, who has shortened the play by about 30 minutes and eliminated two characters, some of whose lines have been combined with others.
Shaw’s play concerns the effect that the middle-aged Caesar and young Cleopatra have on each other both as warring adversaries and as romantic partners. The play is also a three-way political wrangle with Caesar negotiating between Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy, whom he finds are joint rulers of Egypt when he arrives in Alexandria. The power politics includes Roman and Egyptian intrigue, as well as the relationship between an occupying force and a foreign power. The child Cleopatra grows up under the tutelage of the wily statesman. At the end of the play, as Caesar leaves to meet his destiny in Rome, she awaits the coming of Marc Antony whom Caesar has promised to send to Egypt.
Unlike Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra which follows this story chronologically, Shaw’s play is a light comedy on serious matters. Kent Paul’s production maintains a light touch but at the press preview seemed somewhat superficial. Chris Ceraso is a bemused ruler but is too bland to reveal the sense of irony necessary to make Caesar heroic. It is a role that he should grow into with further performances.
As the 16 year old seductress, auburn-haired beauty Wrenn Schmidt perfectly captures the kittenish Lolita side of Cleopatra, who becomes a mature woman by the time the play is over. Disappointingly, Ceraso and Schmidt do not embroider the characters’ sexual relationship which is implied but not overt in Shaw’s text. According to history, they had a child together who is not mentioned in the play. Aside from Rafael Jordan’s elegant artist Apollodorus and Joe MacDougall’s intense Roman officer Rufio, the majority of the supporting cast is two dimensional and unsubtle. The production is graced by lavish costumes by Michelle Eden Humphrey, and the effective lighting by Pamela Kupper carries us from a night in the shadow of the Sphinx to the island of Pharos in Alexandria’s harbor in broad day light.
Patrick Melville as Antistius and Brian D. Coats as Musa
(Photo credit: Jon Kandel)
Performed on the same impressive unit set by Sarah B. Brown with some necessary additions, Boal’s 23 Knives is an absorbing detective drama on the theme of the search for truth and politics versus patriotism. The play is inspired by history’s only mention of the Greek physician Antistius performing an autopsy on the body of the murdered Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. which appears in Seutonius’ The Twelve Caesars. In the play Antistius has been kidnapped by Marcus Antonius, (better known as Marc Antony, Caesar’s adopted nephew,) to discover, through the new Greek technique called “autopsy”, which of the conspirators actually killed Caesar. Brought to the Theater of Pompey, Antistius is left with the corpse of what was once the most powerful man in the world and ordered to have one name for Antonius to reveal in the Forum by nightfall.
Antistius has two immediate problems to solve before sundown: he has lied about being a physician and he suspects that Marcus Antonius has already decided who he wishes to accuse of the assassination. If Antistius gets it wrong, the fate of imprisonment and death await him and his trusty slave Janus. However, as he ponders these questions he is emboldened to put to use his knowledge as a former physician’s assistant to uncover the truth. Will he succeed and will he survive the outcome of his investigations?
Although the early scenes in Eric Parness’ production are a bit slow, the pacing picks up as the play becomes engrossing both as a Roman detective story as well as in its depiction of power politics. With Caesar’s death, the fate of the Roman Republic hangs in the balance. However, whose truth does Marcus Antonius wish Antistius to uncover? At times the play sounds a good deal like our own time when science is often in the thrall of whoever is paying the bill and must be subservient to political expediency.
Patrick Melville is rather mild in the underwritten role of protagonist and narrator Antistius, but he is surrounded by actors who give colorful performances. Ryan Tramont is a force of nature as the virile, tough and angry Marcus Antonius, a soldier and a patrician who is used to getting what he wants. As Antistius’ slave and helpmate Janus, Todd Alan Crain is witty and amusing playing sounding board to his master. Brain D. Coats as Musa, Marcus Antonius’ slave sent to deliver various messages and ultimatums, makes a strong impression playing devil’s advocate to Antistius. Jordan appears briefly as a Roman soldier shocked by Antistius’ work.
Resonance Ensemble’s Roman repertory is an ambitious project, pairing a rarely seen large-cast epic with a world premiere history play. Of the two plays, Christopher Boal’s 23 Knives is definitely the winner, a historical play which looks at the past through a modern perspective while tantalizing us by solving a crime long thought to be revealed. Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra written as his entry in the playwright’s “Better than Shakespear (sic)?” debate is a weak but diverting play. Although the production is lightweight, this is the first New York production since 1977 of this modern classic. Seeing both plays makes an interesting contrast in power politics in our own era of surprising political events.
Caesar and Cleopatra & 23 Knives (in rotating repertory through February 7)
Clurman Theatre, Theatre Row, 410 W. 42nd Street, in Manhattan
For tickets, call 212-279-4200 or www.ticketcentral.com
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